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Spring 2016 Volume 8, Issue 1

Psychology & Neuroscience News

A New Initiative in Affective Science

CASL’s first annual Research Day was held in April 2015 at the University of Denver and was a joint venture between CU and DU.

What makes the study of so compelling? As- flect this: Professor Gruber is a member of the de- sistant Professor June Gruber, a faculty member of our partment’s clinical and social areas, Professor Leaf Van department, hints at the appeal of a riveting mystery Boven is in the social area, and Professor Tor Wager is story. “Broadly, this is about shedding a light on the in the cognitive area. mysteries of human nature. Emotions are an essential CASL’s founders feel strongly about the importance of part of what makes us human. But surprisingly, there interdisciplinary work in this field, not only across areas are still a lot of mysteries as to exactly what emotions of , but across different disciplines. “At the are and how we can harness them to lead healthier and cutting edge of this science are attempts to measure happier lives.” emotion across multiple levels, integrating in- These ideas have prompted a new initiative that strives formation from the cellular level all the way up to peo- for an interdisciplinary approach to understanding emo- ple’s self-reports about their own well-being,” Professor tion, called Colorado Affective Sciences Laboratories Gruber says. “Bringing together interdisciplinary teams (CASL, pronounced “castle”). In addition to drawing is essential to the success of this multi-level work. You from departments outside of psychology, it need teams of people with specializations in a variety of has piqued the interest of multiple areas across our de- disciplines like , , language partment, and the backgrounds of its co-founders re- analysis, and behavioral observation, working as a team, not just as individuals.” Table of Contents CASL reaches out to foster academic dialogue and col- Message from the Chair! 2 laboration among these and other disciplines, including the various areas in our department, and even involving The Sutherland Center! 2 academic communities throughout Colorado. The ro- Research News! 4 bust group of CASL’s 60 members (and growing) gives Faculty News! 5 a sense of this range: though composed primarily of Undergraduate Research! 5 psychology students and faculty, fields such as philoso- Alumni Spotlight: Carl Castro! 6 phy, art, business and marketing, environmental studies, and integrative physiology are also represented. “It In Memoriam: Sean Hudson! 7 seems like this was a critical gap across the university Donate to the Department! Back Cover that needed to be filled,” Professor Gruber says. (Continued on page 3) Psychology & Neuroscience News

Message from the Chair In my remarks at our Winter 2015 gradua- even during his all too brief time with us, tion, I mentioned that “it is never too early Sean was a very positive influence within to start making contributions.” That sen- his graduate student family, the social timent, shared by Dr. Tina Pittman Wa- program and our department as a whole, gers, runs throughout this newsletter. One as well as with the undergraduates whom example is that of Colonel and Professor he taught. This newsletter captures and Carl Castro (see the article on page 6), supports the notion that each of us can who earned his PhD from CU-Boulder contribute to making a difference by shin- with Professor Jerry Rudy. His work as a ing our light. That light not only illumi- graduate student foreshadowed the sig- nates who we are, but also is sufficiently nificant contributions Colonel Castro bright to lead the way for others. The light would make throughout his career to both that shines in us and from us—this is the military mental health and military science. The article power we hold. on undergraduate research in this issue (see page 5) On a final note…This will be my last Message from the echoes this sentiment: Michaela Palumbo is already Chair in our newsletter since I am transitioning to a making contributions through her work as a research new position as the Associate Dean for Research in the assistant to Professor Ryan Bachtell. Perhaps most College of Arts and Sciences at CU-Boulder. Know poignant, however, is when these early contributions that it has been my pleasure to make contributions to are tragically cut short and not allowed to come to full the Department of Psychology and Neuroscience as bloom. This was the case with our graduate student Chair for the past three years. Sean Hudson. In his In Memoriam on page 7, Sean’s graduate advisor Josh Correll so eloquently states that –Theresa D. Hernández

Getting to Know the Sutherland Center The Sutherland Center was established to assist those with bipolar disorder who do not have the financial means to receive help and treatment. Located on the CU-Boulder campus, the Center is in the Raimy Clinic in the Muenzinger Building. The Center was initially given a grant from family and friends of the late Robert Sutherland Sr., a prominent businessman and philanthropist who also suffered from bipolar disorder and received treatment for his illness so he could manage his life successfully. The Center’s mission is to help those impacted by bipolar disorder with diagnosis, treatment, comprehensive collaborative care and education. The Center's director, Dr. David Miklowitz (currently at UCLA), is an internationally-renowned researcher, clinician and author whose work focuses on family environmental factors and family treatments for -onset and childhood-onset bipolar disorder. Dr. Alisha Brosse, associate director, handles the Center’s daily activities, trains graduate students, leads therapy groups and teaches a seminar series on bipolar disorder for the general public. There are currently three graduate students also on staff. To donate or volunteer, contact Rachel Cruz at 720-635-6563, or for online donations, go to http://rdsfoundation.org/support/types-of-donations. For assistance with diagnosis, treatment, referrals, etc., call 303-492-5680 or see http://rdsfoundation.org –Amanda Misiak

The alumni newsletter for the Department of Psychology and Neuroscience is published biannually and distributed to all alumni.

Editorial Staff Credits Managing Editor: Alicia Segal Technical Support: Ernie Mross, Jon Roberts Editors: Theresa D. Hernández, Jon Roberts, Printing: Dynamic Designs Printing Alicia Segal, Michael Wertheimer E-mail: [email protected] Writers: Amanda Misiak, Alicia Segal

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CASL: A New Initiative in Affective Science (continued from page 1)

Affective science is known to promote their future careers most basically as the study of in the field. As part of that pro- human emotion, but those in gram, the CASL team is working various areas of psychology on a formal curriculum of the approach that study from dif- study of human emotions, de- ferent, though often overlap- veloping more in-depth courses ping, perspectives. Clinical psy- on both undergraduate and chologists approach affective graduate levels. One of the an- science with an eye on mental ticipated courses, Happiness, health and ; Psychology and Philosophy, will affective disorders, emotion be taught with two philosophy regulation and more recently, professors, in alignment with positive emotion, may be em- CASL’s emphasis on an interdis- phasized. Social ciplinary approach. Professor focus on how social experience Gruber is also working on iden- affects emotion, and on the tifying grant and fellowship social function of emotions; Assistant Professor June Gruber, one of CASL’s founders, funding opportunities for stu- giving a TEDx talk on “The Dark Side of Happiness” at there may be an interest in top- TEDxCambridge. dents and their research projects. ics such as stereotyping and The student response to CASL prejudice as well as cultural or gender differences in has been strong and positive. Graduate students in our emotion. Cognitive psychologists are concerned with department who identify as their par- how emotion impacts cognition and vice versa; the in- ticular area of interest are thrilled to have this initiative terplay of affect and cognitive processes such as mem- in their own backyard. Maggie Tobias, a first-year ory, decision-making, attention and cognitive reap- graduate student in Professor Gruber’s lab, plans to do praisal are often examined. Researchers in each of these her own research on the interaction between cognition areas also use findings from neuroimaging and the neu- and emotion, focusing on cognitive bias in relation to rosciences to better understand the relationship be- positive emotion and psychopathology. From her per- tween the brain and affective states. spective, having access to faculty, research and study At CU-Boulder, students in all areas of psychology groups specifically about affective science is a dream who are interested in CASL and the field of affective come true. “CASL has been a fantastic experience,” she science can choose from several psychology classes says. “When friends ask me about grad school, I tell already in place: Human Emotion, a large undergradu- them that I finally get to study what I care about. I get ate class attracting over 200 students, taught by Profes- to talk to a diverse group of really smart people about a sor Gruber, and three graduate-level classes (Affective topic I’m really interested in. At the CASL Brown Bag, Science, taught by Professor Gruber; Emotion and De- we have really deep discussions with people from dif- cision Making, taught by Professor Van Boven; and ferent areas and even different departments. There are , taught by Professor Wager). a lot of insights and new perspectives to be gained An additional elective “Brown Bag” class, held over the from that.” lunch hour, includes weekly speakers in affective sci- Professor Gruber notes that the growing interest in ence from major universities such as Yale and Stanford affective science can be seen in the current increased as well as international leaders in the field, and reading media attention to the subject, including that of well- groups that expose students to cutting-edge research on respected academic journals. The National Institute of human emotion. CU students can also participate in Mental Health has also endorsed affective science as an Emotion Research Day, an annual cross-campus con- important priority in the study of mental illness. “This ference with CU and the University of Denver that underscores how important affective science is,” says includes students and faculty from a variety of fields. Professor Gruber. “The time for CASL is ripe. We be- Some broader academic plans are also in the works. lieve CU can be at the center of major discoveries in The co-founders of CASL are currently developing a this field, and tackle some of the biggest unanswered formal graduate certificate program in affective science questions about emotion.”–Alicia Segal and intend to submit a proposal to the university this year. This will provide students with specialized training For updates and further information about CASL, go to https://www.facebook.com/emotioncasl

! 3 Psychology & Neuroscience News Research News Understanding Thoughts and Feelings Using Brain Imaging by Professor Marie Banich You’ve probably all seen pictures in magazines of brightly-colored brains, showing patterns of acti- vation associated with different mental or emotional states—insights into the human brain at work. Our laboratory leverages these techniques to understand how we control and guide our behavior, how such abilities develop during adolescence and early adulthood, and how these may go awry in individuals with psychological difficulties or challenges. I run the neuroimaging center on the Boul- der campus, which provides CU researchers with ability to examine both brain structure and func- tion at some of the highest detail currently available. For example, our recent research has shown that how well a young adult can guide his or her behavior—such as ignoring irrelevant information to remain on task, switching between tasks, and updating critical information as task demands change—is associated with specific patterns of brain structure and also brain function. Our laboratory is now using that knowledge to create a framework from which to understand how such abilities develop during adolescence. For example, our laboratory in collaboration with our colleagues in the Institute for Behavioral Genetics has been selected to collect a subset of data for a new nation-wide study—the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development Study (http://addictionresearch.nih.gov/adolescent-brain-cognitive-development-study)—that will collect brain imaging data on over 10,000 adolescents from about fifteen locales across the country. Data will be collected initially when children are aged nine to ten and they will be followed yearly for ten years. This study will not only examine brain de- velopment during adolescence but also examine how it may be affected by substance use. Our portion of the project focuses specifically on following pairs of twins to determine the relative influence of genes versus the environment on brain development and to examine how both genes and the environment may influence the impact of substance use on the brain. Another somewhat related project just beginning in our laboratory has implications for mental health. Recent research shows that the brain is undergoing rapid and multiple changes during adolescence. Adoles- cence is also the time during life in which mood disorders, such as depression and anxiety, tend to first manifest. Our project will examine not only the development during adolescence of brain regions important for guiding behavior, but also the development of those involved in processing emotion. We hope that the outcome of this study will en- able us to determine whether changes in specific brain regions can predict the onset of the mood disorders or whether the onset of the mood disorders then leads to changes in particular brain systems. Understanding the Nonconscious Roots of by Assistant Professor Chris Loersch One of the oldest sayings among students of human behavior is that there is nothing so instructive as an error. It is at these times, during which behavior diverges from conscious intention, that the operation of underlying processes is revealed. If one pays careful attention to these moments, such errors can provide windows into the operation of psychological processes of which we are not aware. These events happen every day to everyone, ranging in import from simple and common errors such as driving to a location that you did not intend, to rare and horrible mistakes like acci- dentally killing a young black male because you thought he held a gun instead of a wallet. My lab’s research is centered upon understanding these nonconscious processes and their contribu- tion to social behavior. One line of work examines the basic cognitive processes by which such ef- fects emerge. In answering this question, we have developed a novel model that describes how the information made accessible by one event (e.g., exposure to a stereotypically hostile social group) can change our judgment and behavior in subsequent, completely unrelated situations (e.g., making us perceive a friend as particularly prone to anger, or ad- minister greater to an interaction partner). In a second line of research, we seek to understand how various nonconscious processes serve our species’ intense social needs. We have, for example, provided evidence that the emotional response people experience when they hear music serves an implicit social function. This is one of the first rigorous empirical investigations of the evolved func- tion of music and suggests that human musicality helped groups coordinate social behavior. Applied work in this line examines how these social processes affect underage students’ responses to alcohol advertising, again with a focus on the operation of processes that affect behavior (here illegal alcohol consumption) outside of conscious awareness.

4! ! Spring 2016 Faculty News Distinguished Professor Steven New Faculty Maier received the prestigious 2016 University of Louisville Grawemeyer In March 2016, Zoe Donaldson Award in Psychology. He joins past will begin her joint position as As- award winners who include James sistant Professor in our depart- McGaugh, Antonio Damasio, Irving ment’s neuroscience area and in the Gottesman, Leslie Ungerleider and Department of Molecular, Cellular, , , and Developmental Biology. She Ronald Melzack, , will start as visiting faculty and be , John O’Keefe and , Eliza- full-time as of Fall 2016. She re- beth Loftus, Aaron Beck, and Amos ceived her PhD in Neuroscience Tversky, James McClelland and David Rumelhart, Mi- from Emory University in 2009 and chael Posner and Morris Raichle. The Grawemeyer has held a post-doctoral appointment at Columbia Uni- Awards website notes: “The in Psy- versity. Her research focuses on the social and biologi- chology is given for original and creative ideas: ideas cal risk factors for depression. that possess clarity, power and that substantially impact the field of psychology....The purpose of this annual Dajiang Liu accepted the position award is to acknowledge and disseminate outstanding of Assistant Professor of Psychol- ideas in all areas of psychological science. The award is ogy and Neuroscience in CU's In- designed to recognize a specific idea, rather than a life- stitute for Behavioral Genetics, time of accomplishment....His award-winning work starting in Summer 2016. He re- concerns what makes one resistant or vulnerable to ceived his PhD in Statistics from stress when bad things happen. Maier showed if test Rice University in 2011 and his subjects had behavioral control over some element of postdoctoral training at the Univer- the adverse event, they were less negatively impacted sity of Michigan. He is currently and also essentially ‘immunized’ against some harmful Assistant Professor at Penn State effects of future bad events, even if those events were University's College of Medicine. His research focuses uncontrollable. Through laboratory research studies, he on understanding the genetic basis of nicotine addic- uncovered in animal subjects the neural mechanism that tion; unveiling the functional biology of X chromo- provides such resilience in the face of trauma.” For somes; and developing novel statistical methods for more information, see http://tinyurl.com/maieraward. data integration.

Undergraduate Research: Michaela Palumbo Neuroscience major Michaela Palumbo has con- consumption impacted how motivating the rats ducted research in Assistant Professor Ryan found cocaine to be. Specifically, the rats that Bachtell’s lab for two years. Originally from consumed caffeine early on showed a higher Colorado, she came to CU-Boulder specifically for cocaine self-administration. for the then new neuroscience degree. Michaela’s When asked what she most enjoyed about her thesis project, titled “Effects of Adolescent Caf- project, Michaela said, “We were able to tackle feine Consumption on Addictive Behaviors in the entire research experience from beginning Adulthood,” was one she took ownership of to end, from what you wanted to study and early on. “As we began to brainstorm ideas how, from designing the study to writing the about what her honors thesis would entail, she final paper.” Michaela, who is graduating with summa expressed interest in truly taking on her own project cum laude honors, is planning to apply to graduate from start to finish,” said Professor Bachtell. programs in public health and biostatistics, focusing on Initial findings from Michaela’s studies suggest that medical research. “The environment here allowed me adolescent caffeine consumption in rats enhances the to learn so much, from the faculty and grad students to rewarding effects of cocaine in adulthood. When rats the other undergraduates. Everyone was helpful and consumed caffeine during adolescence and then began supportive.” –Amanda Misiak self-administering cocaine as , the early caffeine

! 5 Psychology & Neuroscience News

Alumni Spotlight: Carl Castro, PhD, Colonel, U.S. Army (Retired) Carl Castro (PhD, class of ’89) has been crossing data, writing papers and being absolutely im- borders for most of his career. Moving back and mersed in the whole research process, which forth between the worlds of academia, science, was hugely satisfying to him. “I haven’t really and the military, he has been anchored by his been able to have that level of immersion ongoing research endeavors and his abiding de- since,” he says wistfully. “There was a constant sire to make a difference in soldiers’ lives. push to be better and better, which I really en- Dr. Castro was recently appointed Director of joyed.” Most importantly for his future military the Center for Innovation and Research on Vet- research, he says he learned how to “take things erans and Military Families at the University of to the next level where the application of find- Southern California’s School of Social Work where he’s ings can actually have an impact on improving lives.” been an assistant professor for several years. Now rec- When he returned to the military after his doctoral ognized internationally as one of the foremost experts training, he started working in earnest on that next in the area of military mental health, he began his ca- level. At the Army’s request, he began examining how reer path years ago as a young soldier and student. transitions involving deployments and combat stressors In 1981, Dr. Castro enlisted as an infantryman in the influenced the mental and behavioral health of service Kansas National Guard and was concurrently a student members, veterans and their families. Working with at Wichita State University. “At that time, I saw the mili- grants from the Department of the Army, the Depart- tary as a great opportunity to serve my country and get ment of Defense, and other organizations, he devel- a good education in the process,” he says. In 1983, he oped leading theoretical models about the impact of became a second lieutenant platoon leader and two military transitions and other behavioral health issues, years later graduated with highest honors from Wichita and went on to apply those theories to implementing State. He then decided to take an educational delay effective interventions. In the process, he authored over from the military, planning to return to active duty 150 scientific publications and was a highly sought-after when he finished graduate school. The intention to re- lecturer on military mental health at scientific and mili- turn to military service came naturally to him. “I was a tary conferences. He was also involved in promoting really good fit in the military because I was very adapt- policy change, serving on national, international and able. If you’re adaptable and flexible in the military, governmental advisory boards; he is currently Chair of you’re going to do very well. And I always enjoyed it. a NATO research group on Military Veteran Transi- The more time I spent in the military, the more I found tions. After 33 years of service, including two tours in it an increasingly interesting job.” Iraq and peacekeeping missions to Saudi Arabia, Bosnia and Kosovo, Dr. Castro retired from the Army at the Dr. Castro went on to CU-Boulder for his PhD in psy- rank of colonel. chology, spending a year at Harvard with a fellowship in . Throughout his training, he Then the unexpected happened: Dr. Castro found him- steadily honed the skills he would use during the rest of self once again in an academic setting, landing at USC his professional life as a military scientist. in Los Angeles as an assistant professor in Social Work. He had not anticipated this particular turn in his career He particularly remembers being shaped by his training path. “I actually had no aspirations to return to acade- at CU, noting that it vigorously encouraged critical mia,” he says, “but Dean Flynn at USC recruited me thinking and helped him learn how to approach and and made me an offer I couldn’t refuse.” His long- solve problems rationally. “I was also very well prepared standing ability to adapt served him well and he quickly in terms of interpreting research findings and under- felt right at home. “It’s been a perfect fit for me. I get to standing the implications of those findings,” he says. “I pursue my scholarly research activities, and the Dean is especially learned about this from Jerry Rudy, who had fantastic. I couldn’t have landed in a better spot.” a big influence on me.” He speaks with great apprecia- tion for Professor Rudy, his faculty advisor at CU. This sentiment echoes his experience at CU-Boulder. In “Jerry was a fabulous mentor and friend. I can’t begin reflecting on Dr. Castro’s time at CU, Professor Rudy to repay what I gained from my contact with him.” Dr. remarked, “Once in a while you get lucky and a really Castro notes that Professor Rudy was an excellent role great student comes into the lab. Carl was one of those model in terms of mentoring and strongly influenced rare ones. He was completely self-directed and brought his mentoring style with junior officers in the military as great energy to the laboratory. He made us all better well as doctoral and postdoctoral students at USC. and made being in the lab fun. When he left to return to the military I knew that he would rise to the top.” Dr. Castro remembers throwing himself into his studies –Alicia Segal at CU, working non-stop on his research, collecting

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In Memoriam Sean Hudson (1989-2015) Sean Hudson was a fourth-year student University of Chicago. As I talked with in our PhD program. Sean, he began raising questions and He had accepted an offer to join my lab commenting on fundamental aspects of when I was at the University of Chicago, the research that no one else had no- but then I moved, and he ended up com- ticed—not the ten smart students, not ing to Colorado. His research focused on me. He did that kind of thing all the the idea that, when we encounter people time. of a different racial group, we typically The faculty and students in our program have difficulty visually distinguishing be- have often noted how profoundly Sean’s tween them, and that this difficulty in comments enriched discussions. It was seeing might translate into difficulty think- wonderful to talk with him about ideas ing about them as individuals. His re- because he obviously enjoyed it so much. search was aimed at helping us avoid He gravitated to big questions, and he stereotypes and prejudices that arise from loved the process of exploring them. He thinking that members of another race made those of us around him love that are “all alike.” Sean was killed on De- process, too. Formally, I was his mentor, and I know I cember 12, 2015. It is fundamentally ridiculous to think was supposed to be teaching him. But I learned a lot that I can capture in a few paragraphs what he meant to from him about how I want to approach research. us, the members of the psychology department, but I want to try. He was a scientist with a blindingly bright It is as a teacher that I think Sean was most truly gifted future, a remarkable teacher, and a wonderfully gener- (professionally, at least). Funny, smart, devoted, and ous spirit who made those around him feel at home— unswervingly compassionate to his students. He was a made us feel like we had a good friend. teaching assistant for our graduate statistics class. So his job was helping other graduate students learn statistics. As a student and a researcher, Sean was stunningly This is a trick—it requires both a deep understanding, smart. But honestly, for me, it wasn’t his cognitive horse and the capacity to clearly communicate remarkably power that made him stand out academically. What I subtle ideas. His students would all tell you: he excelled loved was that he thought differently than most of us. I in this domain. He worked hard to prepare, he worked remember, very early on—before he had even enrolled hard to help them understand. Many of those students as a graduate student—we met to talk about a scientific came to think of him not just as a teacher, but as a paper. I had just discussed this same paper with a group friend. of ten very smart graduate students in a seminar at the Beyond his work, Sean was a wonderful person—a pre- cious, kind soul. He reached out to new students, to people who were upset. He did everything he could to protect them and make them comfortable. This is where words fail me most. He was a huge support to all of us, and I miss him so much already. Sean was obviously just getting started—in our field and in life. He had a huge impact on so many of us in a few short years. My heart breaks when I think of what his life could have been, of all the good he could have done, all the students he would have mentored, all the people who could have known and loved him—people who will never know their own loss. He will be pain- fully and deeply missed by those of us lucky enough to have spent at least some of our time with him. (Contributed by Associate Professor Josh Correll, Sean’s faculty advisor) NOTE: Sean Hudson will be awarded a posthumous Sean (far right) with fellow graduate students after finishing comps. PhD in Psychology at commencement in Spring 2016.

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